


because of you, i've got the strength to start

by nishinaka (orphan_account)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Duet, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Singing, Takes Place in Chapter 1, akamatsu kaede can sing AND play the piano, he looks hot so, i refuse to let kaede never see shuichi without his hat, it's a must see sight for her, saihara shuichi can sing, so nobody's dead yet, we stan a multi-talented queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26917555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/nishinaka
Summary: In which Kaede and Shuichi find Kaede's lab and she gets an idea.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Saihara Shuichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	because of you, i've got the strength to start

**Author's Note:**

> If someone could draw them singing and dancing, I would cry.
> 
> (if u ever want to, PLS TAG ME SO I CAN SEE IT @ miya.atsumuu on ig PLEASE)

"Come talk to me again some time, Shuichi. This was pretty fun." Rantaro smiled, waving as he walked back towards the dining hall.

I said my goodbyes and thrust my hands into my pockets, walking to the dorms intent on going to bed early. 

As soon as I rounded the corner, I ran into Kaede.

"Oh hey Kaede! What are you-"

I was interrupted when she grabbed my hand and ran at full speed. I yelped as she began to drag me through the labyrinthine halls of the academy.

"Come _on_ Shuichi! It'll be fun! I promise!"

"A-ah! Kaede wait!"

She slowed down and looked at me, an expression of excitement melting away into one of borderline annoyance.

"You're not even going to tell me where we're going? What's going to be fun?"

"It's a surprise! Do you really not trust me Shuichi?"

"W-wa-wait! That's not what I-"

As my guard went down for the slightest second to explain, she grabbed my hand and ran as fast as she could. I (did not) let out a squeak as I stumbled to match her pace.

Soon, but not soon enough, we arrived at a door with a piano logo on it. _This must be her ultimate lab.. Why did she want to drag me here?_

"I just wanted to find my ultimate lab!" She said, yanking open the door and pulling me inside.

Inside, we were met with rows upon rows of CDs, records, and all kinds of music containing devices. Music scores were littered on the floor and on the giant grand piano in the center of the room.

"O-oh my gosh! It's the same piano I had as a little girl! Just... much bigger and _way_ more polished-!"

She ran up to the piano, grabbing at it like a little kid on Christmas morning. I busied myself with picking up and shuffling through the music sheets while she marveled over the piano.

"What are these, Kaede?" I asked, handing over some of the sheets of music I had found on the ground. 

"These are music scores! Let's see here... Tchaikovsky, Chopin, even Mozart! This place is loaded!"

She chuckled and continued to sort through the scores until one caught her eye.

"Omigod! Shuichi take a look at this!" She waved around one of the pieces until I plucked it from her grasp.

"High... School Musical?"

"You've never heard of High School Musical?!" She leaned forward, questioning me.

"...No?" She gasped, pointing at the title of the score. "This was the most iconic song of 2007!"

"Uh, sure." I reluctantly agreed, flipping through the score.

After a second of scanning, Kaede ripped it from my grasp, setting it onto the stand on the piano.

"Careful! You'll rip it!"

"Music scores are more durable than you might think, Shuichi! It'll be fine!"

She set her hands on the keys, and began to play the intricate beginning melody.

"You know..." she started, not once pausing her playing, "this is supposed to be a sang duet."

"So?" I inquired.

"So sing it with me, Shuichi."

"W-what?!"

"It's written here! Just read the notes!"

I backed away. "No way! I can't sing!"

Kaede began to laugh.

"What's so funny?!"

"I know you can sing, Shuichi. Just try! I won't judge you."

"A-ahm, that's not very reassuring Kaede."

She harrumphed, turning her back towards me.

"I'm not going to talk to you until you say you'll sing it."

"I uh-"

"Oh, you can't fool me either, Shuichi."

_Dammit! Is there really no way I can get out of this?!_

"...Fine."

Kaede turned back around, her eyes lighting up. 

"You really mean that, Shuichi?"

"Sure."

She clapped her hands together.

"Okay! Let's do this!" 

I sighed as Kaede placed her fingers on the keys. She began to play the beginning melody once again, and cued me in.

"Once in a lifetime, means there's no second chance," her eyes shot up towards me, a split second of shock crossing her features before she smiled, encouraging me to continue. 

"So I believe that you and me should grab it while we can."

I backed down, and Kaede started to sing the next line.

"Make it last forever, and never give it back."

Her angelic voice rang through my head, and I smiled.

_She's so good at singing AND piano too! Is there anything this girl isn't good at?_

The seconds flew by and before I knew it, we were launching into a harmonized chorus. I held out my hand and smiled at her.

She took my hand and stood up as we glided to the center of the room. Before I knew it, we were dancing to no rhythm other than our voices. Without the piano in the background, you could hear our voices in perfect clarity. 

I twirled her around as the song reached it's climax. We were both smiling and stifling giggles as we danced. Every movement felt like gliding on a cloud. 

"We're taking it back, we'll do it again together." My voice rang alone in the room, yet I felt no trace of fear, as if the music was still backing my voice

"It's better like that, and stronger now than ever!" Kaede sang as we began to speed up dancing, giddy with excitement.

"We're not gonna lose, 'cause we get to choose. That's how it's gonna be!"

Time seemed to speed up, and all I could focus on was the girl in front of me, singing just as loud as me, dancing just as energetic as me. 

It was over all too soon, the song slowing to close as I dipped Kaede low to the floor, singing out the last note.

We held that position for a solid five seconds before we both burst out laughing, falling onto the floor.

"Ah, that was fun!" Kaede looked to me. "You told me you didn't have a good singing voice, you liar!"

"A-ahm, I really don't sing, so I never thought I did..."

"I mean, I figured, since you're a detective and all."

"I'm not a detective yet, I'm still just a tr-."

"Shuichi! Give yourself more credit!" She turned to me as I began to fiddle with my hat. She sat up, looking down at me. 

"Speaking of, you really got mad when Miu was talking about your hat.. if you don't mind me asking, why do you wear your hat?"

I froze, looking down once more. "I don't like looking people in the eye," I spoke after a pause. "I don't want to ruin the mood right now, but I'll tell you the story later, I promise."

"You promise?" She held out her pinky expectantly.

"Yeah, I promise." I raised my own pinky and interlocked it with hers.

We sat in silence for a few moments, still basking in the events of the past few minutes. Before long, Kaede stood up. Dusting off her skirt, she held her hand out to me.

I took her hand, but as I got up, my hat flew off my head. I turned around to search for it, but Kaede had already grabbed it.

She held it out to me, and I looked into her eyes. For the first time in years, I felt comfortable looking into someone's eyes. I felt _alive._

"Here you go. You look really cute without your hat, Shuichi!"

"H-huh?!" I spluttered, quickly shoving the cap back onto my head. She laughed, noticing my flushed expression as she skipped towards the door.

"Let's go explore!"

"Ah, the nighttime announcement came on while we were uh, singing."

"Did it really? How did you notice?"

"I'm a detective, Kaede. It's my job." Kaede smiled at that response.

"You're right, I guess. But we definitely need to do this again!"

"I... wouldn't be opposed to that."

**Author's Note:**

> this was so rushed, i'm sorry.. it's my bedtime so i figured i might as well get it out tonight. i literally wrote this in like 2 hours and it shows😬
> 
> BUT i've had this idea in my head for MONTHS though, so i can't ignore it any longer-


End file.
